


Talk

by thechapwiththearms



Category: Ghosts (TV 2019)
Genre: Bisexual Thomas, Canon Gay Character, F/M, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Pride, Realisation, cap/thomas towards the end, coming out (kind of?), gay cap (obviously), this was originally meant to be a little angsty but tbh it's pure fluff, tiny bit of alison/mike
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-02 07:50:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19194727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thechapwiththearms/pseuds/thechapwiththearms
Summary: Alison tells the ghosts about pride and two of them take away a little more than the others.





	Talk

**Author's Note:**

> I know there's been a lot of "finding out about pride" content in this fandom but it's a cute trope and I wanted to write it :,)
> 
> This is hardly proofread at all, I apologise profusely in advance.

It was an afternoon like any other in Button House, save for the fact that all of its resident ghosts - except Humphrey, who was god knows where in pursuit of his own body - were huddled around the television, watching intently with expression that ranged from realisation, to shock, to quiet appreciation. Of course, Pat and Julian were familiar with the topic at hand, but the rest of the ensemble appeared utterly shocked and intrigued at the prospect.

\---

Later that day, Alison was awoken from a nap by a hoarde of babbling ghosts, an occurrence that she had inexplicably grown used to.

"Guys! One at a time!" She pleaded, surrounded by the perplexing sound of eight different questions being asked, unbelievably loudly, at once.

"Alison," started The Captain, "I- ah- we saw something on the television earlier, and were rather wondering if we would be able to- to talk about it? With you, that is?"

"Sure, fire away."

"Oh, you see, we have rather..." began Thomas,

" _A lot_ of questions" interjected Kitty, the coy smile evident in her voice. 

Thomas rolled his eyes at the interruption but the others could tell that his exasperation was not all that genuine.

"Oh, okay. Common room in five, then?"

\---

"You mean to say it's _legal_?" asked The Captain, eyes wide in disbelief.

Alison and the ghosts were sat in what they all called the 'common room', but was really intended as a dining room (or was it a lounge?), in a circle formation on chairs that had been obtained from various rooms about the house, á la Alcoholics Anonymous. From an outsider's perspective, this would have been a decidedly odd choice of setup, but there were too many of them to fit around the kitchen table, and none of them particularly fancied standing around for what they anticipated would be a lengthy conversation.

The subject at hand? Pride parades. That morning, the programme that the group had been so intensely fixated on was a news feature on London Pride, of which only Julian and Pat had heard. This coverage would have been no revelation to anyone actually living in 2019, but the rest of the ghosts were utterly shocked - not disgusted, not repelled, but shocked - at what they saw on screen. Not once had any of them considered it a possibility, especially not when they were alive.

"What? Oh, of course it's legal, Captain! Has been for more than fifty years now. Julian, Pat, you never thought to tell them?"

The Captain gawped less subtly than he tried to. _Fifty years?_

"Well, it just never came up..." Pat reflected, still sporting his usual glowing smile, but looking rather guilty too.

Assessing the circle as she spoke, in terms as simple as she thought possible (for Robin's sake, mostly) Alison picked up on each of the ghosts' nuanced responses to this new revelation. When discounting the two who were already aware, she noticed that:

Fanny somehow looked both spurned and accepting at once. Of course, all those in her company knew of the ordeal she caught her husband in, of the affair that ultimately destroyed her marriage, but she was evidently aware that this was no reason to hold prejudice against anyone else. For once, she looked somewhat at peace with herself and her past. Perhaps she merely found solace in the knowledge that she could consider forgiving him whilst still keeping a clear conscience, but either way, she appeared wholly accepting of what she was being told.

Robin simply grinned, grimy teeth showing in a way that should have been repulsive but was always somehow endearing to everyone. If it involved love - real, unadulterated love - then he was on board. He saw absolutely no reason for the horrific persecutions that he knew had taken place in the past (not in _his_ past, though, he'd have you know - nothing of this sort seemed to matter back then), and was glad that people were finally coming to their senses. Love, it would seem, was his primary concern in life and death (along with "bums," that is).

Kitty joined Robin in his toothy celebration of love. It had always perplexed her that people were so often scorned for who they loved, or who they were, and it saddened her beyond belief to see anyone suffer as a result. Admittedly, she was somewhat unsure if she understood fully everything that Alison told them, but she couldn't help but beam nonetheless.

Mary's brow was raised in utter engrossment. Like Kitty, she made sure to concentrate fully to gain the best understanding that she could, and when she was sure she had gotten the gist of what Alison had told her, simply nodded sagely. When she had been alive, she knew of certain people - people who died in the same fashion as her, but for very different reasons. Much of the time, excuses were made, as her town were often simply unwilling to admit the existence of queer individuals, the and sometimes the 'witch' card was played against those who dared to pursue those of the same gender, or to exist outside of the rigid gender roles set for them by god-knows-who. This upset Mary, truly, even if she never really understood it.

The Captain's expression was a contorted combination of surprise and - was that relief? Alison had long suspected that there was more to The Captain than he chose to let on to herself and the others, and his face in that moment gave him away like he was showing his hand of cards. An additional hint of reflection was detectable in his eyes at different points in Alison's speech, as he listened eagerly, whole body tilted towards her as he took in every word. Smiles came in lightning flashes as he recalled his time stationed in Button House, drinking and laughing into the wee hours of the morning, all with _him_. What he wouldn't give to feel such a way again.

Thomas was, uncharacteristically, the least readable of them all. It was clear that he was listening with full intent, but unlike The Captain, he did not let on at all to the tumultuous effects these new revelations caused him. Of course, in his lifetime, and especially in a social circle such as his own, he was aware of people who were in homosexual relationships - even of some who were transgender - but when Alison explained that there were such a multitude of labels available to use nowadays, Thomas was floored. Never once had he considered himself a divergence from heterosexuality, on account of the fact that he was attracted to women. No matter how the rest of the ghosts may perceive him, he never dared stray from what he was so often told was _normal_ , by parents and by near enough everyone else, but he began to wonder. What if-

"Wow," the older ghosts crowed in unison when Alison had finished explaining as best she could.

"Yeah- oh! And Mike's bisexual too, aren't you, Mike?" she raised her voice as her husband passed by the door.

"What? Uh, yeah!" Mike belted back from the top of the stairs, "Why?"

"No reason!" Alison responded, repressing a giggle when she took a figurative step back from the situation and realised the bizarre nature of what she was doing.

"Thank you for your patience, oh Alison. Beautifully eloquent," praised Thomas, voice quieter and more earnest than she had ever heard it before.

"Truly," affirmed The Captain, his tone echoing the poet's.

After a little while longer, the strangely comfortable silence broken by occasional questions from each Ghost (even Pat and Julian, who admittedly needed to brush up somewhat on their comprehensive but vaguely outdated knowledge), the conversation began to tail off.

Clapping his hands together as if to end a long, enduring speech, Julian thanked Alison once again. With that, the group eventually dispersed, each ghost returning to their usual haunt to dwell on the pleasant experience.

\---

Yawning, Alison heaved herself from the dusty couch and switched off the the television. Funnily enough, she had left on a programme concerning superweapons in anticipation of The Captain's appearance, but to her surprise, he never showed. Shrugging, she decided to shuffle off to bed

Just before she reached the bedroom that she and Mike shared, she felt herself stop almost involuntarily in her tracks as she heard muffled sounds coming from the room next door. All of the ghosts would usually be asleep at this time of night, especially The Captain, who always adhered to a strict schedule despite the fact he knew he no longer needed to.

That being said, this, Alison recalled after a minute or so, was The Captain's room. Unable to stop herself from prying, she edged closer and could eventually discern that the noises she had heard were a combination of whispers and gentle laughs, occasionally stopping for a brief second before starting again. Brow knitted in complete bemusement, she risked peering through a crack between the heavy wooden door and its frame.

What she saw almost made her gasp; not from shock, or amusement, but from endearment. The Captain was sat almost upright in bed, stretched across the mattress, and in his arms was a grinning Thomas, whose arms were, in turn, wound loosely around the older man's shoulders as he sat between his outstretched legs. Both were facing one another, whispering things Alison could not quite make out from her position outside of the room. If ever there were an image to illustrate the word _bliss_ , she thought to herself, this was definitely it.

Her smile widened (something she had thought impossible not a second prior) as Thomas leaned forward and gave his fellow ghost a fairly chaste kiss, the two of them pressing noses together and huddling tighter against one another's bodies. The Captain ran a large hand though the younger's thick hair, resting it on the back of his head as he hummed in contentment.

"Darling?" inquired Thomas, tone hushed as he met The Captain's softened gaze.

"Yes?"

"Aren't you glad she told us?"

" _So_ glad. So very glad." Another kiss.

With that, Alison felt a lump rise in her throat, and she thought it best to let them alone for the rest of the night; And, as she padded towards her own quarters and caught sight of a snoring lump of Mike, somehow taking up the entirety of their double bed, her heart felt fuller than ever. This was not only with love for Mike, however, or even love for the ghosts, but with the knowledge that she had given them the courage to love on their own terms.


End file.
